The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Aspects of the invention relate to an open roof construction for a vehicle having a roof opening in a fixed roof portion thereof. The fixed roof portion has an inner roof edge defining the roof opening. The open roof construction includes a stationary part, at least a movable first panel and rearwardly thereof a second panel. The first panel is capable of at least partly opening and closing the roof opening and is movably supported by an operating mechanism guided in one or more guide rails of the stationary part extending at least along a part of the adjacent inner roof edge of the roof opening and rearwardly thereof. The first panel is movable by means of at least a panel support supporting at least a portion of the first panel and is capable of moving with respect to one of the guide rails and thereby displacing the first panel from a closed position in the roof opening upwardly and rearwardly above the second panel. At least one of the second panel, the inner roof edge and the stationary part is provided with a deformable seal capable of sealing a gap between the second panel and the adjacent inner roof edge of the fixed roof portion. The panel support is adapted to deform the seal when it moves through the gap between the second panel and the inner roof edge.
In practice it has been found that moving the panel support through the gap between the rear panel and the fixed roof portion can cause unwanted wear to the seal or seals and unwanted noises by the seals as a result of uncontrollable deformations of the seal. For example, if the orientation of the of the panel support is inclined, the panel support will move the seal upwards with its then front edge when it slides in one direction, and will move the seal downwards with its opposite edge when it slides in the opposite direction.